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Fish Market at Maha Lellama Negombo Sri Lanka

Part 1 Project 2011Wishwa WelikannaUniversity of Moratuwa Moratuwa Sri LankaSite AnalysisBordered on three sides by the lagoon the site sits as the entrance transition for Doowa and Ja-Ela and opens out to a magnificent view of the Negombo inland as well as the sea. Easily accessible by both land and sea, the site is a transportation hub for both the porting boats as well as the Lorries transporting fish from the country’s upper region.

The urban context is zoned according to the activities revolving around the fishing process. The services pertaining to the wholesale market comprising of fuel and ice storages, fisheries cooperation, ports, boat repair centres etc. are zoned along the lagoon (coloured in red) while the retail market for fish transported by the lorries is placed opposite the road. Day to day pola activities are woven intermittently along the road as a by function of the fish market.

Design StrategyThe strategy adapted was to design the fish market so as to zone the functions in the building according to the activity zoning of the urban area.

DesignThe building is formed as an extension of the lines and patterns of the context and consists of three blocks generated through the activities of the urban context. The block facing the lagoon facilitates the services of the building which relate to the existing service activities of the area while the block bordering the by-roads house supportive functions for the upcountry retail market i.e. money exchange, communication, retail market stalls, fish equipment’s stalls etc.

The building is designed not as a dominant feature but rather as a gentle part of the landscape that blends in seamlessly. The spaces, form and progression were developed to achieve this conceptual idea which primarily resulted in having the middle block and its surrounding open area as the main space which is a linkage between the retail fish market, the ‘pola’ and the existing community pathways. The spaces are handled for the pola to run through the building and to merge with the surrounding paths.

Characterized by changing adaptive spaces and by having no definite demarcations of space, the ambience of the building alters with time and activities taking place.